Robberies

Sitting handcuffed at the witness stand, a former state corrections officer on Friday pointed his finger -- both figuratively and literally -- at a disgraced Los Angeles police officer accused of participating in a series of home-invasion-style robberies staged to look like legitimate police raids.

Irvine police said Saturday that they had arrested a man suspected of robbing six banks since November, including five in Orange County. Lt. Rick Handfield said Paul Kjelland, 30, of Costa Mesa was arrested about 5 p.m. Friday as he appeared to be preparing to rob an East West Bank branch on Culver Drive. Kjelland had a note in his pocket indicating his plans, the lieutenant said. Kjelland is suspected in robberies in Irvine and Topeka, Kan., among other cities.

Testifying with the confidence and poise of the expert witness he once was, disgraced Los Angeles police Officer Ruben Palomares told a federal court jury Tuesday how he went from being an idealistic young officer who wanted to be a role model for troubled kids to a cynical and corrupt cop at the center of a home-invasion robbery ring. Dressed in a green prison jumpsuit, Palomares faced the jury, often arching his eyebrows or gesturing as best he could in handcuffs to help make his points.

A group of teenagers, led by a 17-year-old Queens girl, has been arrested on charges stemming from posting online ads for cheap Porsches in order to rob cash-carrying buyers, Long Island police said this week. The group's ringleader was high schooler Agniesika Banach, who placed at least three fake ads on Craigslist selling late-model Porsches, said Det. Lt. Karl Schoepp. One of the fake ads promised a 2002 Porsche 911 Turbo for a negotiable $50,000.

Two Australian robbers who thought they were hauling away a big sack of cash from Melbourne's Cuckoo Restaurant got a bag of bread rolls instead, and one of them accidentally shot the other in the buttocks. Benjamin Jorgensen, 38, and Donna Hayes, 36, were sentenced today after pleading guilty to robbing the restaurant April 1. Judge Roland Williams told the robbers they were a "pair of fools," before sentencing Hayes to eight years in prison and Jorgensen to seven. Jorgensen grabbed what he believed was a bag with the Cuckoo's daily take.

Two brothers who worked as police officers were convicted Wednesday of participating in home invasion-style robberies staged to look like legitimate law enforcement raids, prompting the judge to say that the case underscored the need for aggressive outside oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department. "I've never heard testimony like I've heard in this case," said U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess, who has practiced law since 1974 and was appointed to the federal bench 12 years ago.

A computer drive holding names, addresses, birth dates and Social Security numbers of all 3,500 Modesto city schools employees has been stolen from a local data processing firm, authorities said Tuesday. Sgt. Linda King of the Fullerton Police Department said a hard drive and three monitors were stolen in a burglary at Systematic Automation Inc. No cases of identity theft connected with the data breach have been reported.

Computer equipment containing the private financial data of every employee of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was stolen earlier this week, prompting the utility to pay for a credit monitoring service for each of its 8,275 workers. DWP General Manager H.

A suspected robber discovered Thursday that karma can arrive on the front bumper of a Chevy pickup. According to police, one of two men suspected of robbing a motorist in Anaheim was accidentally run over by the victim as the suspect tried to elude police. "It was bad timing on the suspect's part," said Anaheim Police Sgt. Rick Martinez.

Two teenagers were charged with murder Tuesday in the death of an 87-year-old woman who was beaten into a coma while her mobile home was being robbed. Investigators say Cesar Pulido and Mike Garcia, both 16, crawled through Storma Del' Andrae's window Feb. 11 and pummeled her head with hammers. Del' Andrae was left bloody and unconscious while the suspects stuffed a suitcase with jewelry and other valuables. She suffered a fractured skull, fell into a coma for three weeks and died Friday.